Kristofer Bergstrom is a leading North American taiko player. He is a former member of Los Angeles-based taiko quartet, On Ensemble. In addition to taiko, Bergstrom plays the shamisen, koto, and turntable. Biography Personal life Kristofer Bergstrom was born July 12, 1976 in Littleton, Colorado to Jon and Diane Bergstrom. He has a sister named Nicole. When he was growing up, his family moved around, and Kris lived in Texas and Louisiana before moving to California in 1985. Kris is a vegan and an avid skateboarder. Collegiate taiko Bergstrom began playing taiko while attending Stanford University. At New Student Orientation, he attended a performance by the collegiate group Stanford Taiko, which prompted him to audition for the group. He intended to study Physics and English while at Stanford. His years as a member of Stanford Taiko encouraged him to consider a career as a professional taiko player. Through Stanford Taiko, he met fellow On Ensemble member, Shoji Kameda. During the summer of 1998, Bergstrom interned for San Jose Taiko with Kameda as one of San Jose Taiko's first summer interns. Over this internship period, a discussion between Bergstrom and Kameda entertained the idea of creating a taiko group, which are the roots for On Ensemble. In order to pursue professional taiko, he dropped Physics from his course of study and began concentrating more on music. He continued to major in English as it seemed relevant to musical composition. He graduated Stanford with a degree in English in 1999. Post-college years in Japan After graduating Stanford in 1999, Bergstrom spent time in Japan to study Japanese in order to learn more Japanese arts. His intention was to learn music more traditional than kumidaiko. When he first arrived in Japan, he visited Sado Island to see the taiko group Kodo for their earth day celebration. He then went to Hakodate, Hokkaido, where he would live for the next two years before moving to Tokyo for a year. Bergstrom took up the traditional Japanese dance, Nihon Buyō, for two years in the Wakayagi school. He also practiced his taiko skills by renting a space from the Hakodate-based taiko group Hinokiya. This interaction resulted in a strong relationship forming between Kris Bergstrom and Hinokiya. Bergstrom performed with and composed for Hinokiya at times during his stay in Hakodate. This relationship also initiated contact between Stanford Taiko and Hinokiya. In addition, Bergstorm seriously studied the